Stephan Bonnar suspended one year following steroid test failure

Stephan Bonnar has been suspended one year by the UFC after failing a drug test at October’s UFC 153 event.

With the card taking place in Brazil last month, where there is no athletic commission, the UFC handled drug testing for the event. Bonnar tested positive for the anabolic steroid Drostanolone following his loss to Anderson Silva in the night’s main event. According to Marc Ratner, the UFC’s VP of regulatory affairs, Bonnar’s positive test has put him under suspension until Oct. 13, 2013.

Bonnar has stated his contention to retire from the sport, so the suspension won’t mean much on that end, but were he to change his mind about coming back, he wouldn’t be able to do so until late next year.

He wasn’t alone in failing a drug test on the card, though, as Dave “PeeWee” Herman tested positive for marijuana metabolites following a loss to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. However, given the different nature of the drugs they tested positive for, the punishments will be different. Herman’s hasn’t been officially handed down, but Ratner said he expects it to come this week, and will not be as severe as Bonnar’s.

“We feel very strongly that there’s a big difference between PED’s [performance-enhancing drugs] and marijuana,” Ratner said in an interview with MMAFighting.com. “We think the commissions do a good job with PEDs, but we think with marijuana there should be some form of rehab involved, going through that kind of process and learning about it.